Vijay Rupani named Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel to be his deputy

Ahmedabad, Aug 4 (Agencies & IANS): In a surprising turn of events, state BJP president Vijay Rupani was named the new Gujarat Chief Minister by the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday, replacing Anandiben Patel who resigned earlier this week.

Nitin Patel, the senior-most minister in the Anandiben Patel cabinet, will be the Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister.

This was decided at a state party meeting, chaired by BJP President Amit Shah, here.

Earlier in February, Rupani was made president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gujarat unit. His appointment, insiders said, was delayed by almost a month owing to differences between Anandiben Patel and BJP President Amit Shah.

He replaced the Leuva Patidar leader, R C Faldu, and his appointment came at a time when the party was facing serious challenges from the community.

The appointment was seen as a mark of confidence the BJP brass had in the leader from the Baniya community.

A Jain Baniya, Rupani does not belong to one of the majority communities in the state; Jains make up only one per cent of Gujarat’s population while Baniyas comprise three per cent.

The BJP selected a non-other backward classes and non-Patel leader at the helm to avoid a tricky political situation, sources said.

Many see Rupani as an Amit Shah confidante. Hence, his appointment hinted at the latter’s increased indirect control of the state unit, where rumours of factionalism are rife.

The BJP leadership was earlier said to have almost zeroed in on Nitin Patel, the senior-most minister in the Anandiben Patel cabinet, to take over as Gujarat Chief Minister from her.

BJP President Amit Shah, who flew in to Ahmedabad on Thursday morning, held a marathon meeting with national secretary (organization) V. Satish and general secretary in-charge of Gujarat affairs Dinesh Sharma at his residence.

State leaders, including Nitin Patel, who holds the health portfolio and is the state government spokesperson, also participated at the high level meeting at Shah’s residence.

State BJP president Vijay Rupani spent more time at the party headquarters where leaders were busy in hectic parleys. 

Nitin Patel later presented himself before the media to represent the state government’s position on the 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections, which was rejected by Gujarat High Court earlier in the day. 

Sources said the swearing-in is likely to take place on August 7. It was Rupani who made the announcement of 10 per cent reservation on behalf of the government at the party headquarters in April, though both Nitin Patel and Anandiben Patel were also present. 

“On quota, Rupani should have been giving the government version, but it was Nitin Patel instead today,” said a senior party leader who did not want to be named. 

 Another senior leader told IANS: “Nitin Patel is the logical choice. He is the seniormost minister, a Patel and from Mehsana in North Gujarat, home district of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Choosing the seniormost minister would also neutralize any factional considerations." 

When Modi went to Delhi in 2014, Nitin Patel had offered to take charge as the chief minister but Anandiben Patel had pipped him to the post. The party had made it clear that Amit Shah, who was considered the most ideal candidate to steer the party in Gujarat, would continue as the party chief, but his name still continued to be discussed here. 

Later, sources said he would only chair the meeting of the legislators on Friday in the presence of Nitin Gadkari and Saroj Pandey. After all the half a dozen names were discussed, Nitin Patel and Vijay Rupani had emerged as leading choices. Later, when Rupani was talking to reporters at the party office, Nitin Patel was keeping busy with Shah.

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